Ladies i need info, opinions, and advice on HOMESCHOOLING!!! (piog)

[HouseOfBiddles]

DH and i have been having this conversation for the past couple weeks. We just relocated, and looking to register our DD (pre k) in to school, but its going to cost us about $290 a month for her to go to our churches pre k program. She was in school where we lived last, and that was about $320 for 3 full days, we will be taking a cut on a day with this new school and i just am not into that. I feel like she needs school regularly.

So if you have any advice or info on Christian Home schooling, that would be amazing. 

a few questions i have in mind are:

1. How do you go about scheduling the day?

2. Do you work out of books? or on the computer?

3. What about social interaction?

4.what setting do you need to successfully home school?

5. How much does it usually cost a year to home school?

these are just the ones that came of the top of my DH and my head...

thanks in advance ladies!!

[bmw29]

1. How do you go about scheduling the day?
We have a loose schedule for our day. I leave lots of room for surprises.

2. Do you work out of books? or on the computer?
A little of both plus plenty of hands on activities.

3. What about social interaction?
We have a homeschool group plus loads of cousins.

4.what setting do you need to successfully home school?
I'm not sure what you mean by this.

5. How much does it usually cost a year to home school?
That varies greatly depending on who you ask. It can be free or really expensive. We are in the middle somewhere.

[bren_darlene]

First I would say that until your child is 6 or 7 you do not even need "curriculum".  They will learn all they need just through interaction with you.   They learn at that age through play.  Do puzzles, color, read a lot, do educational games, ect...   I have home educated for many years and can promise you that it is the best! :)  All 15 of our DC were/are educated at home.  Fourteen of the fifteen have already graduated and have families of their own. We have a whole slew of grandchildren that are being educated at home now also. Such a blessing :)

1. How do you go about scheduling the day? No schedule for that young an age. Later we just have a certain amount of work that we get done each day.  Usually get it done in the morning but one of the wonderful things about home education is that you run your day, not the schedule.

2. Do you work out of books? or on the computer? Books

3. What about social interaction? That is a myth cooked up by the public schools to try and scare parents. We never got out and did any extra "socialization".  We as the parents taught our children how to behave and to interact with other children and yes, adults. They are all grown but one now and quite normal. lol  Most are already married with families of their own. A lot of people join home school support groups. I did my first few yrs but we just got tired of going. Everyone is different.

4.what setting do you need to successfully home school? DIfferent for everyone

5. How much does it usually cost a year to home school? At your children's age not anything really. Later it is just according to what you want to spend. For many yrs now it hasn't cost me much of anything since I had already purchased my books and such for the older ones.

[unicornnymph22]

Well, pre-k for DD and I was play. Anything and everything that interested her, we did. By K she knew numbers to 20 and the ABCs, and knew half the sounds, and we had loads of fun!

Now in 2nd we are doing online public school, due to ex-h. But we face some of the same issues as regular homeschoolers. Even when we go out and people question us about school, I tell them her school is online and they go 'oh, you homeschool!' followed by questions and/or comments.

1. How do you go about scheduling the day?

Well, this varries, depending on any field trips and such. But a typical day is wake up by 10am, start work by 11am, lunch at around 1ish, finish by 2-2:30ish. At this point she can work ahead to earn a day off or stop.

2. Do you work out of books? or on the computer?

Both, they ship us the text and work books, so most of it is books. But quizes and tests are entered online, with the option to print and work offline. They do require two programs online, totaling about an hours worth of computer time.

3. What about social interaction?

I agree with a PP about this being a myth to scare parents. When people ask me this and we are out running errands or on outings, I respond with she is socializing with the real world, what more could I want? She is learning how to treat and interact with other people by watching me. We use public transit, and she knows more bus driver names than I do! She has conversations with some of them, and many of the passengers know her by sight. The clerks at the local riteaid know her and ask about her grades. Sometimes, I think she has more friends than I do! Socialization? Na, who needs it!

4.what setting do you need to successfully home school?

Have a special place to keep any and all papers and documentation that is required by your state, and keep an open mind. Learning can happen anywhere.

5. How much does it usually cost a year to home school?

Well, online public school is free in some states. But regular homeschooling can be as pricy or as cheap as you make it. Scour this group, and you will find links for almost anything!

[tennisgal]

I have tried many schedules. My DH works evenings and goes to school in the morning so it is not unusual for us to give up what school work we are doing and let the boys go see dad and help with yard work (they're young...they still like doing that) or do a "science experiment." I don't want to allow the schedule to become so important that the boys miss that 45min that Dad is in and out of the door b/c the schedule says we need to be doing laundry or something.

So, for us, we are up at 7:00, we get dressed, do bedroom chores, eat breakfast, cleanup, etc. We start school work at 9:00. I have a 6yo (1st grade) and a 4yo and a 2yo. When I am doing one-on-one school work with my 6yo (like Math or Lit) then I have my younger boys scheduled to do a certain toy or activity like a Lego challenge or build a city with empty boxes, etc (nothing messy b/c I may not be able to really pay attnetion to what they're doing). 

Then when I want to devote time to my little guys to work on something I send my 6yo to do an online thing like starfall or send him with a Lego challenge (he LOVES those).

We wrap things up around 11:30 and the boys help with lunch, lunch cleanup and then we have a 30min reading time after lunch. After that they go to quiet time for 90 minutes. They can play or read or listen to music, but they all get sent to their own space for that time. 

When we started we spent almost no money aside from printing things out. We checked our lots of books from the library and joined all the library's free clubs (Lego club, craft club, reading club). Now we spend probably around $500/yr but I haven't purchased a packaged curriculum. 

We take swim lessons at the Y or join soccer team. My boys like sports so they just do Park and Rec but I"m not sure what we'll do when they hit 6th grade and Park and Rec isn't an option anymore.

Once we met one homeschooler we seemed to meet many othersin the community. We also met lots of homeschoolers at the park or the library during school hours. 

We don't really do workbooks but do lapbooks and literature units, like we read Blueberries for Sal and did various activities using the book. 

We have a school room, but honestly we just do school work at the kitchen table b/c we can spread all out.

I didn't like having a "kids table" b/c I sit next to them and at a kids table I didn't have anywhere to put my notebook/book/whatever. 

It's honestly whatever suits your family. My bff is super structured, 8-2, at their desks, and this would drive me crazy. 

[alexsmomaubrys2]

Quoting HouseOfBiddles:

a few questions i have in mind are:

1. How do you go about scheduling the day? We do school in the morning and it lasts about 3 hours.

2. Do you work out of books? or on the computer? We use a premade curriculum, www.sonlight.com

3. What about social interaction? We belong to a home-schooling co-op, they take outside classes and activities, they have friends and we do regular playdates.

4.what setting do you need to successfully home school? Whatever works best for you and your kids.

5. How much does it usually cost a year to home school? It depends on what curriculum you use, if you use one at all.

these are just the ones that came of the top of my DH and my head...

thanks in advance ladies!!

[JasonsMom2007]

My oldest is 4 and in kindergarten. We are really relaxed. There are certain things we do daily (I read to him, he reads to me, we read a folktale, do something with math, and memorize Bible verses, oh and we do sight words too) some days we don't feel like stopping and will do a science project or learn some history. We always learn the history of holidays.
we don't have a schoolroom. We use a combination of our living room floor and the kitchen table.
we use library books, the Internet, and whatever else we happen to want to use.
I think its really only cost us in paper, ink, pencils, etc.
as for social interaction my son has church, bike riding playdates, kung fu, awana, and tee ball.

[ProudMommy05.07]

1. How do you go about scheduling the day?

We schedule our day by subjects, and we mix it up a little here and there.

2. Do you work out of books? or on the computer?

We do both, but not as much computer as books and hands-on.

3. What about social interaction?

This is most non-homeschoolers biggest issue, but most homeschoolers don't see it as an issue at all.  My daughters are in ballet, and a one day a week homeschool enrichment program.  We go to storytimes, libraries, stores, park, etc. and actually talk to strangers, EEK!  I have taught my daughters that a stranger isn't always bad, and that you can't make new friends if you don't talk to people.  But also that we NEVER leave with a stranger and we don't take things from strangers without mommy or daddy saying it is ok.

4.what setting do you need to successfully home school?

This varies on the kids and the homeschooling parent.  We have a schoolroom set up in our basement, it helps me stay organized.

5. How much does it usually cost a year to home school?

It depends on what you do...free all the way up to $##,###.  I look for used books, curriculum for Ebay or used book stores, make what I can.  there are several free resources out there, free worksheet printables (cost of paper), free websites, etc.

[KiriandWyatt]

1. How do you go about scheduling the day?

• We try to start right after breakfast, my son likes to have reading class first (to get it over with) then we move on to the other subjects. When we get hungry for lunch we stop and take a lunch break (I only give him enough time to eat, no playing) then we jump back in to class to finish the school day. So really what ever works for you and your kid/kids.

 

2. Do you work out of books? or on the computer?

• books, but that is just what works for us. Now there are some educational learning games online like starfall that I let him play, but that is not for class.

3. What about social interaction?

• Church, Royal Rangers (scouting), homeschool groups, sports like Upwards basketball is plenty for us right now. I really recommend looking in your area for a good homeschool group they bring so much interaction and support. If you can't find one make one.

4.what setting do you need to successfully home school?

• I am unsure about this question....with setting do you mean like class room? If so for us we have turned our third bedroom into the class room. I like closing us up in another room away from temptations like the tv, plus I love buying posters and things from mardels so our class room really looks like a 2nd grade class room lol.

5. How much does it usually cost a year to home school?

• Well for us this year it only coast us about $165, but that is because we have only one child and this is our 5th year of homeschooling (started when he was 3) so we have a lot of supplies already. All I had to buy this year was his Math and Reading/language arts/spelling curriculum. I made his social studies and science curriculum.

[mynameismuerte]

Keep in mind that what works for one child might not work for another.  I would definitely recommend reading The Well Trained Mind, your library may have a copy of it.  Once I read it I had to buy it, lol.  

They have a message board here.  

You can find all kinds of information on tons of different curricula here.  My oldest has an Oct birthday so he missed the cutoff for K last year.  That's why I say he's in K this year.  We're doing 1st grade math (Singapore) and we're focusing on reading more than anything else for K.  The other stuff we get to do we look at as more of a bonus at this point.  I also thought I needed a boxed curriculum to keep me on "the path" when we first started but piecing it together has been a wonderful experience for us.  

[Cara5]

When the kids were little we had pie charts that helped everyone keep up with making sure things were getting done. They each had a circle on the wall with their name on it, and a bag full of felt pie slices with different subjects written on them.  Big slices were worth 30 minuets and small slices were worth 15, and the chart filled up at 4 hours, which was our goal.   After one child had been working on math for 30 minuets, they would get a big math slice to stick on their pie.    After a while the kids would be able to tell, all on their own, if they were on track.  "Uh oh mommy, we already had lunch and I only have two pieces up!"  And would focus and get more work done in the afternoon.   There was a small reward for getting your pie full during the day, usually cookies after dinner, or they could save it up for an ice cream Sunday after school on Friday.